Rudolph, Santa and Saul can't take the whole rap

There is so much to respond to in Patricia Stebbins' Jan. 4 My View, "Put the Christ back in Christmas," that it would take a full page of the paper to do it. So I'll focus instead solely on the complaint that she and others have expressed that Christmas has become a commercial enterprise and along the way lost its religious meaningfulness.

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Posted Jan. 10, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Posted Jan. 10, 2013 at 2:00 AM

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There is so much to respond to in Patricia Stebbins' Jan. 4 My View, "Put the Christ back in Christmas," that it would take a full page of the paper to do it. So I'll focus instead solely on the complaint that she and others have expressed that Christmas has become a commercial enterprise and along the way lost its religious meaningfulness.

This may be true for some, but whose fault is that? Ms. Stebbins blames Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus and Saul Alinsky. (Really? Saul Alinsky?) She bemoans "the total absence of any indication that the real meaning of Christmas is the birth of Jesus," and regrets the loss of "the joyful and glorious celebration of the nativity of the savior." But shouldn't she get that in church?

Someone at the local mall or town square uttering the words Merry Christmas can't provide that for her, and it isn't the job of government or business or public schools. She has to find for herself those aspects of Christmas that she holds dear.

And let the rest of us have the seasonal celebration we're looking for, too, be it religious fulfillment at our church, synagogue, mosque or temple, or simply a happy holiday.